Closing Down Coal Plants

In April, states on both sides of the country made progress toward a
coal-free future, with plans to close down more than 20 coal-fired
boilers in the United States by 2025. These measures to reduce
greenhouse gases may signal big changes for the nation’s energy future.

In the Pacific Northwest, the closures highlight concern for limiting
air pollutants produced by coal-powered electrical plants—both Oregon
and Washington have committed to going coal-free. Groups like the Sierra
Club and Climate Solutions helped to spearhead the anti-coal campaign,
and worked closely with Governor Christine Gregoire, the power company
TransAlta, and labor unions to negotiate a transition that was fair and
sustainable.

The resulting Washington State Senate Bill 5769 requires the
phase-out of the TransAlta energy plant, the only coal-powered operator
in the state. Additionally, the bill requires that TransAlta provide $55
million for pollution control, energy efficiency and local job
creation. Oregon’s only coal-fired power plant, run by Portland General
Electric Co., is scheduled to close by 2020.

With the proposal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards under The
Clean Air Act, the EPA will be able to regulate coal-fired power plants
on a national level. The D.C. Court of Appeals ordered that these
regulations, which will require many plants to install new
pollution-curbing technology, be finalized by November.

According to the EPA, these measures will dramatically cut emissions
of mercury, arsenic, and other toxins, preventing as many as 17,000
premature deaths a year. K.C. Golden, policy director at Climate
Solutions, said that the agreements made in Washington state wouldn’t
have happened if it weren’t for the regulation, due to the low market
price of coal.

“It’s not until you start to properly and fairly account for and
internalize these mining, air, and climate costs that coal becomes
uncompetitive,” Golden said. “The EPA’s role in administering the Clean
Air Act and cleaning up these plants is absolutely vital.”

In the Southeast, the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority came
to an agreement with the EPA in April to shut down 18 of its oldest
coal-fired boilers in Tennessee and Alabama. The deal also requires TVA
to provide $350 million for clean energy projects, a majority of which
must be energy efficiency initiatives.

Golden said that the recent successes are not only real achievements
for environmental advocates, but also for local businesses, investors,
and labor groups—who are on the ground, making the alternatives work.

“Most folks get that fossil fuel dependence is a really bad idea in
the long run,” Golden said. “What we’re still working to prove is that
we can do without it, and that we can power strong, sustainable
economies with cleaner fuels. And there are a whole lot of partners in
the campaign to make that true, well beyond just the environmental
community.”

ALSO ...

Activists in the port towns of Bellingham and Longview, Wash., are
working to block the construction of proposed export terminals for
shipping coal to Asia. With coal demand set to drop in Washington and
Oregon, U.S. coal producers are looking to send their supply where the
demand is highest: China.

ALSO …

Oakland, Calif., has drafted one of the nation’s most ambitious plans
to address climate change. It aims to reduce Oakland’s emissions to 36
percent below 2005 levels by 2020, a goal based on targets defined by
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading body
of climate scientists. A coalition of community organizers pushed the
city to include broad issues in the plan like affordable housing, energy
efficiency, and access to healthy food. On March 1, the city council
approved the plan for review under state environmental laws. Oakland is
already implementing several components of the plan.